1/29/2019

AFGHANISTAN/ISIS/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “They think pulling out of Syria and Afghanistan would be a debacle. They think North Korea cannot be trusted. They think the Islamic State is still a threat to America. They think Russia is bad and NATO is good. The trouble is their president does not agree. More than two years into his administration, the disconnect between President Trump and the Republican establishment on foreign policy has rarely been as stark. In recent days, the president’s own advisers and allies have been pushing back, challenging his view of the world and his prescription for its problems. The growing discontent among Republican national security hawks was most evident on Tuesday [1-29-19] when Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader and perhaps Mr. Trump’s most important partner in Congress, effectively rebuked the president by introducing a measure denouncing “a precipitous withdrawal” of American troops from Syria and Afghanistan.”

Peter Baker, “A Growing Chorus of Republican Critics for Trump’s Foreign Policy,” The New York Times online, January 29, 2019